Today’s assignment was at Richardson’s Boat Yard in Stalham on the Northern Broads, carrying out a Pre-purchase Survey on this little Hampton Safari River Cruiser.
In the 1960's, Alec Hampton's boat hire business 'Hampton Boats' at Oulton Broad consisted of a fleet of traditional mahogany cruisers. Alec then designed the mark one Hampton Safari for production in fibreglass. The length was increased from 22' 6" to 25'6" and the beam from 8' 6" to 9' 6". A plug was made from marine plywood, which was then used to form the female hull moulding. The boats were moulded firstly by Rydgeway Marine of Kessingland, and then by Bob Smith of Lowestoft.
Although a total of 256 Hampton Safaris were produced from 1969 to 1982, most were supplied to other hire-boat yards as bare mouldings for their staff to complete. During the peak years, Hampton Boats ran 14 Safari 25's in it's fleet, but this reduced to just two in the final season of 2002. Sadly, the yard has now ceased trading, and will surely be missed by the large regular clientele, some of which have been regulars for nearly 30 years.(Hamptons themselves only built one Safari for private use, in 1971 called 'Blue Tit' for John Jarrold, who was then the Mayor of Norwich).
Surveyors comments: Check for window leaks on older models. To stop windows leaking you may have use a non-hardening caulking so that the caulking can move with the expansion. To deal with this problem, you may have to remove the frames, rebed them and refasten them less tightly than they were previously installed.
Some osmosis blistering will be common... But usually structuraly insignificant. However, its good practice to take these little boats out of the water over the winter period and store them in the dry, out of this reducing the possibility of further osmotically induced gel coat blistering.
On older models, check all floor bearers and lower bulkheads for timber deterioration.
A good one will fetch 14K +.
Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com
In the 1960's, Alec Hampton's boat hire business 'Hampton Boats' at Oulton Broad consisted of a fleet of traditional mahogany cruisers. Alec then designed the mark one Hampton Safari for production in fibreglass. The length was increased from 22' 6" to 25'6" and the beam from 8' 6" to 9' 6". A plug was made from marine plywood, which was then used to form the female hull moulding. The boats were moulded firstly by Rydgeway Marine of Kessingland, and then by Bob Smith of Lowestoft.
Although a total of 256 Hampton Safaris were produced from 1969 to 1982, most were supplied to other hire-boat yards as bare mouldings for their staff to complete. During the peak years, Hampton Boats ran 14 Safari 25's in it's fleet, but this reduced to just two in the final season of 2002. Sadly, the yard has now ceased trading, and will surely be missed by the large regular clientele, some of which have been regulars for nearly 30 years.(Hamptons themselves only built one Safari for private use, in 1971 called 'Blue Tit' for John Jarrold, who was then the Mayor of Norwich).
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| This is the Mark II version with sliding wheelhouse/lounge. They are somewhat difficult to distinguish because individual boatyards completed the Hampton mouldings to their own spec. Mark 1's (usually) didn't have the integral molding for the gas bottle stowage under the afterdeck, or the moulded in mudweight holder on the foredeck. The control panel moulding was different and the keel was smaller. |
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| Paul Richardson often has ex hire boats for sale. He usually ( not always) includes a paint of the topsides and an antifoul as part of the sales price. So the boats ready to go ready for the start of the holiday season. |
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| Paul Richardsons staff were all very busy today getting the hire fleet ready for the start of the season.. this must be one of the largest working boat sheds on the Broads |
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| 'Big foot'... A very adaptable hoist.. a must for moving 100's of boats around |
Surveyors comments: Check for window leaks on older models. To stop windows leaking you may have use a non-hardening caulking so that the caulking can move with the expansion. To deal with this problem, you may have to remove the frames, rebed them and refasten them less tightly than they were previously installed.
Some osmosis blistering will be common... But usually structuraly insignificant. However, its good practice to take these little boats out of the water over the winter period and store them in the dry, out of this reducing the possibility of further osmotically induced gel coat blistering.
On older models, check all floor bearers and lower bulkheads for timber deterioration.
A good one will fetch 14K +.
Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com
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